Nature Conservancy’s Richter featured at Ed Cape Seminar

SAN MARCOS – Brian Richter, Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Freshwater Initiative, will be the keynote speaker at the 2004 Ed Cape Seminar 3 p.m. March 31 at the University Performing Arts and Conference Center at Texas State University-San Marcos.

The topic of Richter’s presentation is “Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature,” which will be followed by a reception for all interested parties. The Ed Cape Seminar is sponsored by the Department of Biology.

Freshwater Initiative is a program that supports conservation projects across the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Region. Directing a staff of aquatic ecologists, hydrologists, policy specialists, educators and communicators, Richter has been involved in river science and conservation for more than 20 years. His current responsibilities focus on the global challenges of meeting human needs for water, while also keeping river ecosystems healthy. He has published numerous scientific papers in scientific journals on the importance of ecologically-sustainable water management, and currently serves on the National Academy of Science Committee on Texas Instream Flows.

The Ed Cape Seminar honors the late Edward Matthew Cape of San Marcos, a pioneer in the development of water resources in Central Texas. Cape became formally involved with water resource management by providing the necessary leadership for the legislative creation of the Guadalupe River Authority in 1933, which was expanded in 1935 to include the Blanco River and a 10-country region, and renamed the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA). He also deserves recognition for his pivotal role in the construction of Canyon Lake, in cooperation with the then-congressman Lyndon B. Johnson and other area leaders.

The Ed Cape Seminar Series was implemented as a continuing seminar series designed to provide a major forum for discussing major water issues relevant to Central Texas, the state and the nation.